Webb vs. Richardson are in the finals. Both have excellent qualifications, but people need to understand that the VP candidate's role is to add a few percentage points to the ticket----PERIOD. Unless a President is assassinated or disabled the VP will not have any independent power of significance. Cheney was an anomaly because Bush was so ignorant on foreign policy that Cheney made himself indispensible. Neither Obama nor Clinton would allow the VP to dominate.
So, if the VP is only useful for getting votes Obama or Clinton will have a tougher time getting based on past elections, it's hard to see why either of them needs Richardson. Democrats are not going to lose many Hispanic votes to Republicans. They may well lose white males to McCain and therefore Webb is more useful, particularly since he has the military bona fides in spades to neutralize McCain---wounded marine commander in Vietnam, Sec of Navy under Reagan and a son servcing in Iraq. Webb is militantly anti-war. He's also for the GI Bill, which McCain opposes, and an economic populist from a purple state. THe Dem governor will replace Webb with another Dem so they won't even lose his seat in the Senate.
People who worry that Webb was once a Republican or bad on FISA are not making arguments that are meaningful in this context. They might be if Webb was runninbg for President, but he's not.